Friday, October 10, 2008

Karl Lagerfeld Goes Kountry

According to fashion bible Women's Wear Daily, Chanel's Paris-based head honcho Karl Lagerfeld just scooped up a six bedroom house in Vermont...sight unseen.

Vermont? Whaaat? Who knew Miss Lagerfeld had a thing for milk and maple syrup.

The 1840s landmark building is said to be on an island in Lake Champlain where there are legends and rumors of a Loch Ness monster type of creature called Champ. The wildly eccentric, wickedly smart and fa-bew-lus stitch bitch is quoted from backstage at a recent Chanel fashion show as saying, "I love it. It's very much Emily Dickenson" and that he's planning on shooting some of the upcoming Chanel campaigns on the property.

Of course, Miss Lagerfeld doesn't eat, right, so she won't be making the scene, such as it is, in Burlington....guess he won't go to Al's French Frys (sic) for a snack...and the locals will have no patience whatsoever with his imperious Teutonic ways...

This sounds interesting and unique, please let us know more if you hear Mama! I know Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany own a country mansion in Stowe, VT. It's a ski town and most of the homes are owned by wealthy NYC or Canadian businessmen. There are some gorgeous multimillion dollar homes there. But an island on the middle of Lake Champlain? That's something else!

There are precious few private stand-alone islands actually on Lake Champlain. He likely bought property on the larger islands of South Hero or North Hero which are connected via highway to the shore. Both have plenty of homes on each so it isn't as isolated as the 'island' image might suggest.

As for geography, someone cited Stowe which isn't close to Lake Champlain ;) To their point, VT has long been a quiet haven for many movie stars from Charles Bronson to Michael J Fox. The latter's productions company (Lottery Hill Farm) was named for said VT property.

I've been unable to get any photos from the VT branch of the family, but they do back up what glimmerglass states ––– it's most likely on North or South Hero, and current property listings don't show anything near a 6-bedroom 1840s landmark.

But given the construction date, it's highly unlikely that it was erected on a more inaccessible island; keep in mind, kiddies, Lake Champlain is BIG.

Here's the thing. Rough to picture Mr. Lagerfeld in overalls at the Girl Scouts' spaghetti dinner or picking up sodas at the local convenience store. Yet, I think it's great for anyone that can acquire a quiet piece of heaven in such a lovely setting. Hope he enjoys it.